Paint brush keeper



Sept. 27, 1966 D. H. SNYDER PAINT BRUSH KEEPER Filed April 8, 1964 INVENTOR. DONALD H. SNYDER ATTORNEYS United States Patent 3,275,129 PAINT BRUSH KEEPER Donald H. Snyder, Blissfield, Mich. Filed Apr. 8, 1964, Ser. No. 358,274 3 Claims. (Cl. 20615.1)

This invention relates to a paint brush keeper for maintaining such brushes in good condition for use and an object is to produce a simple and inexpensive device of this character by which diiferent size brushes can be accommodated, the brush support being adjustable in a convenient manner so that the bristles of the brush are suspended in a liquid, such as turpentine or linseed oil, regardless of the length of the brush, the arrangement being such that one or more brushes can be mounted within the keeper housing.

Other objects of the invention will hereinafter appear or will be obvious from the disclosure, and, for purposes of illustration but not of limitation, an embodiment of the invention is shown in the accompanying drawings, in which FIGURE 1 is a side elevation of the paint brush keeper, a portion being broken away to show the interior;

FIGURE 2 is an enlarged top plan view of the device shown in FIGURE 1 with a portion of the cover broken .away to show the bracket and brush supporting rod;

FIGURE 3 is an enlarged top plan view of the wire bracket;

FIGURE 4 is a fragmentary elevation substantially on the line 44 of FIGURE 3; and

FIGURE 5 is an enlarged fragmentary sectional view of an alternate form of can wall employing corrugations.

The illustrated embodiment of the invention comprises a paint brush keeper having a metallic can or housing closed at the bottom and open at the top. Preferably the can is cylindrical in shape although it may be polygonal. The open top may have any suitable detachable closure, such as a paint can lid 11, which fits tightly and prevents evaporation of the liquid inside. Another suit-able closure would be a removable neoprene lid (not shown), such as currently used on coffee cans, and which, when applied, provides an air-tight fit with the can. Preferably, the can 10 is much taller in relation to its diameter for a purpose which will hereinafter be apparent.

Commencing a short distance, such for example as three inches, from the botttom of the can is a series of closely spaced internal circumferential grooves 12 which provide ridges on the outside wall of the can. These may be formed by rolling the can blank, as will be readily understood by those skilled in this art. As indicated on FIG- URE 5, the can body may be corrugated as at 12a which also forms circumferential internal grooves and external ridges in a regular undulating pattern. The groove-ridge arrangement terminates a short distance, such as about one inch, from the open upper end of the can.

Fitting within the can is a removable wire bracket 13 which in this instance is semi-circular in shape and is sufliciently resilient so that when released it snaps into a selected groove 12. Adjacent each end the wire bracket 13 is bent inwardly at 14, thence downwardly into V form at 15, thence outwardly at 16, and finally approximately straight at 17. The V portions 15 may be grasped respectively by the thumb and forefinger of a person and forced ice toward each other sufficiently for enabling the bracket to be lowered free of the can walls into the can the desired distance. Then by releasing the bracket it snaps into a selected groove 12 and due to the resilience of the wire it Will fit securely and snugly in place, although it can be easily removed or adjusted to another position by a similar procedure.

Paint brushes B are suspended in the can by forming a transverse hole in the handle at a suitable location, such as in the lower part of the handle, so that as suspended the bristles of the brush are immersed in the turpentine or other liquid in the bottom portion of the can. A straight relatively rigid wire 18 extends loosely through the hole in the paint brush and is of suflicient length so that the end portions rest loosely in the V forms 15 at the ends of the wire bracket. Manifestly, several brushes may be mounted on the same wire 18.

From the above it will be clear that I have produced an exceedingly simple and inexpensive device for keeping paint brushes, which have not been cleaned, in useable condition over an extended period of time. The selected liquid will be poured into the can to cover the bristles of the brush and by tightly closing the open end evaporation will be retarded if not prevented. The can may be repeatedly used and the bracket 13 may be readily shifted to just the right positions to accommodate paint brushes of different sizes.

Changes in details of construction, arrangement and choice of materials may be effected without departing from the invention.

What I claim is:

1. A paint brush keeper comprising a can closed at the bottom and open at the top, means for closing the top, a series of vertically spaced circumferential grooves disposed interiorly of the can, a resilient wire bracket of generally semi-circular shape adapted to be snapped into a selected groove, a rod for suspending paint brushes thereon, and means spaced inwardly from each end of said wire for supporting the end portions of said brush suspending rod.

2. A paint brush keeper comprising a can closed at the bottom and open at the top, means for closing the top, a series of vertically spaced circumferential grooves disposed interiorly of the can, a resilient wire bracket of generally semi-circular shape adapted to be snapped into a selected groove, a rod for suspending paint brushes thereon, a combined finger hold device for reducing the diameter of said bracket by forcing the ends thereof toward each other for purposes of application and removal, and rod support means.

3. A paint brush keeper as claimed in claim 2 in which the combined finger hold device and rod support means comprises bent end portions on the wire bracket in the form of a V spaced inwardly from the adjacent bracket portions.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,238,641 8/1917 Coon 20615.1 1,943,639 I/ 1934' Thatcher 220- 2,479,509 8/1949 Pichniarczyk 206l5.1

'I'HERON E. CONDON, Primary Examiner. 

1. A PAINT BRUSH KEEPER COMPRISING A CAN CLOSED AT THE BOTTOM AND OPEN AT THE TOP, MEANS FOR CLOSING THE TOP, A SERIES OF VERTICALLY SPACED CIRCUMFERENTIAL GROOVES DISPOSED INTERIORLY OF THE CAN, A RESILIENT WIRE BRACKET OF GENERALLY SEMI-CIRCULAR SHAPE ADAPTED TO BE SNAPPED INTO A SELECTED GROOVE, A ROD FOR SUSPENDING PAINT BRUSHES THEREON, AND MEANS SPACED INWARDLY FROM EACH END OF SAID WIRE FOR SUPPORTING THE END PORTIONS OF SAID BRUSH SUSPENDING ROD. 